Perfumes are made up of essential oils and alcohol. Alcohol is one of the main elements of perfume. The oil must be higher in concentration with alcohol. The other elements of a perfume include different aromas and water. Water is added to the perfume to balance the concentration. A strong perfume contains 15-20% essential oil. Eau de Toilette is commonly used perfume with 5-8% oil.

Alcohol is added to a perfume to make the perfume smell stronger. When there is a low percentage of essential oil in the perfume then alcohol is added. Eau de Cologne perfumes have the lowest oil concentration, so alcohol is added to the colognes to make them smell stronger. The odourless alcohol Ethanol is used. Special denatured or SD alcohol has additives and it is very hard to get. A substitute of SD alcohol is Everclear. Everclear is a product of pure grain alcohol and contains up to 95% ethanol.

Alcoholic perfumes evaporate much faster than non-alcoholic perfumes. When you spray these fragrances onto your body they smell strong but after an hour or two the perfumes start losing their fragrance. You won't be able to smell these fragrances at all after about 3-4 hours. Non-alcoholic perfumes don't evaporate so fast, so last longer. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic perfumes have differences in their packaging and pricing as well. Most non-alcoholic perfumes come in small bottles. These bottles are very simple and ordinary. On the contrary, alcoholic perfumes come with attractive packaging. The bottles containing alcoholic perfumes are very attractive and specially designed. These perfumes come in various sizes and designs.

There are many reasons why some people prefer non-alcoholic perfumes over alcoholic perfumes. One of the main reasons is religion, as Islam prohibits alcohol and that's why people following Islamic traditions don't use alcoholic perfumes. Another reason is skin care, as alcoholic perfumes and products can damage your skin badly. Some people don't like alcoholic perfumes just because they love natural things.